New Groove: Record labels sign download deals

Four of the country's leading independent record labels have shown their faith in the future of downloading music from the internet by securing a deal with an online distribution company.

Four of the country's leading independent record labels have shown their faith in the future of downloading music from the internet by securing a deal with an online distribution company.

Telstar, Wildstar, V2 and Beggars Banquet have signed up with distributor DX3 to promote singles and music videos on internet sites.

Under the deal, internet users will be able to access promotional downloads, which will be available on a time-limited basis.

Nick King, DX3's vice- president of marketing, said: "The internet is becoming a great tool to promote music, and record companies are increasingly using it to push new singles."

One of the first bands to benefit will be BBMak, the British boy band that has taken America by storm.

Now making inroads in the UK charts, DX3 is expected to promote the band's next single, "Still On Your Side", due to be launched later this month.

DX3 is backed by EMI and is also working with Ericsson in Sweden to launch a gadget that allows internet music to be directly played on a stereo system.

Companies like DX3 are tipped for success now that the music industry is closing in on Napster, the renegade internet-sharing site.